Town officials have withheld the last payment of Maxwell's approximately $46,000 contract after residents began showing up to town council meetings by the dozens to voice grievances with their assessments.

The latest revaluation of properties in the town have produced assessments more than 400 times the current property values for some residents.

Excell Road Resident John Fox said his assessment more than doubled from its 2006 level of $20,000 to more than $50,000. Fox's assessment will translate to more than a $1,000 increase in taxes, he said.

He was confident that Maxwell never visually inspected his property during his assessment, explaining how the majority of his 20 acres is unusable, hilly, damp wetlands.

Fox pointed to a gross disparity between the per-acre assessment rates in neighboring Brookfield and Hamilton. While his land is now valued at $2,500 an acre, he said some Brookfield residents hold assessments of $525 an acre.

Hamilton residents are angry about their assessments, Fox said. At a meeting earlier in April, during which more than 150 residents were in attendance, residents presented a petition to the council, Fox said. At the same meeting, New York State Troopers, Madison County Sheriff's deputies and town police officers were posted inside the meeting and in the parking lot, he said.

Payne Street Resident Ben Barrett said his assessment wasn't increased as significantly as others, but the less than $10,000 increase is too much.

Two homes adjacent to his have been sold in the last year and neither have gone for asking price nor their assessed value. He questioned why their value would be raised when their market value is clearly not as high as previously assessed.

Barrett said the board has other options than relying on its assessor to stop the skewed revaluation.

"They seem, in my estimation, hell bent on pushing this through," he said of the board.

He said residents aren't complaining about paying taxes based on a fair property assessment, but when property values are stagnant, he questioned why they would be raised.

Contrary to what residents reported, Councilman Peter Darby said there were no police present at any meetings.

While he believes that some of the assessments are unfair, Maxwell and Roach maintain they are using valid figures. Compared to neighboring municipalities, rural property values are at least $500 higher in Hamilton.

"I don't understand the difference," he said, adding that it hasn't been explained adequately.

If the town board reaches a consensus on the fairness of the assessments, Darby said it doesn't have the authority to do anything. The town's assessor has to question the validity of the assessments in order for the values to be altered, he said. In talking with Roach, Darby said he has maintained that the assessments are valid.

That is the only option that has been presented to the board, Darby said. He anticipated that the board would talk about the potential of other action at its meeting Tuesday night.